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@loneswimmer - When I worked underground in a coal mine, we would shower in dishsoap every day at the end of the shift. They would give is the choice of Lemon Joy or Ivory. I'll remember those smells for a long time.

@rosemarymint - I use Bag Balm. It works very well. Got me through 10.5 hours the other day. The only chafe spot I have is where I sandpapered off part of my shoulder with my chin - I didn't think to lube either my chin or my shoulder.

You're going backpacking in the mountains and throw in a swimsuit and goggles - which you use. (Goggles are useful for detecting pokey things underwater before losing an eye. And they drive the raptors nuts!)

That doesn't mean you're an open water swimmer. It means that you either don't have enough suits, or you aren't hanging them up to dry. I remember putting on wet suits for two a days when I was in high school. Fortunately, I can afford more suits now.

In the spirit of "you never know when you might like to go for a swim," I threw a suit and googles into the kit for a weekend in Niagara Falls (watch out for barrels!) and got in a swim in a sweet lake favored by Ann Arbor families on the trip home (thanks to Mustang Chef for the info).

For next time: any put-in spot for swimmers on north side (Canadian) of L Ontario, along Niagara Parkway? What a beautiful area! The shining sea. I ate fresh farmstand strawberries while watching a lone kayaker and a lone sailboat making their peaceable way.

You figure take the bus to the bay swimming spots in a strange city, so you can hit the water as soon as you get off the plane. Then you sweet talk your dad into driving you to the airport with a layover back at the bay, so you can hit the water one last time before flying home.

You are training in a freezing pool, desperate to pee, but struggle on until the end of the session rather than stop early as you know it will be impossible to have the resolve to get back in. You spend the next swimming hour arguing with yourself (to pee or not to pee) but you refuse to pee. And why does everything shrink anyway?

You choose business hotels for conferences based on the quality of their pools.

I travel for work almost every week. I'll pick a hotel ten miles away from the customer over one walking distance if the further one has a pool you can actually lap swim in. I've been incredibly lucky to have access to a 33yard pool for the last 6 months of travel. Though I have lost count of the number of times I have jammed my hands into the ends because of the lack of markings. I used to carry weights glued to lucite to use as a homebrew end of lane warning, but the TSA confiscated them :(